1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an integrated system having one or more inspection stations that are used to inspect, and one or more repair stations that are used to repair discs that may be damaged. This integrated system may be manually operated or automated. The invention also relates to a method for using the integrated system. An inventive repair module is provided as is an inventive inspection system.
2. Description of the Related Art
The polysilicon-based layered disc is one of the most popular data storage devices for various applications including computer, audio, video, entertainment, and other applications. These discs comprise grooves/pits and bumps that represent the digital 0's and 1's of binary data.
As these discs are subjected to everyday use, they develop scratches, blemishes, and dirt/dust accumulations that may prevent them from being accessed properly. Numerous approaches to cleaning and removing scratches and blemishes have been developed, including those used to clean and repair multiple discs.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,783,870 discloses a disc cleaner having a disc and cleaning pad that rotate at approximately the same speed. U.S. Pat. No. 5,069,236 discloses a disc cleaning device for cleaning multiple disks by providing a retaining cradle and having a spray bar that sprays fluid on the disks and projects through the centers of the disks. Use of centrifugal force for carrying cleaning solution across the face of a disc is disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 5,126,992. U.S. Pat. No. 5,524,313 discloses the removal of flaws from a disc by using a rotary member having a cylindrical peripheral fact that is resiliently contacted with the surface of the disc. U.S. Pat. No. 5,537,706 discloses a multi-disk cleaning system having multiple circular apertures and multiple cleaning pads that allow multiple disks to be simultaneously cleaned. Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 6,424,611 discloses a system having an inspection station that examines a disk under a high intensity light by use of a magnifying glass, and a cleaning system that uses reciprocating cleaning cloths on the top and bottom of a disc simultaneously. However, none of these patents disclose an inspection station, cleaning station, or combined inspection and rejuvenation station according to the present invention.